On My Own
by Unwritten95
Summary: *Set in OOTP* Harry has been through hell during his fourth year of school, only to return to the unloving Dursley's. Sirius and Remus are worried after no contact from Harry, but what will they do when they find out the awful truth of what goes on at Number 4 Privet Drive...will they be able to help Harry cope? Or will Harry push them away and insist on coping on his own?
1. The Beginning

**Hi! So this is my first FanFiction Story… yet another Harry abused by Dursley's and rescued by Sirius and Remus.  
Hope you enjoy this first chapter…**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me unfortunately :( **

**Harry P.O.V**

Number Four Privet Drive stood amongst the other perfectly plain and pristine houses on the street in Surrey. The half-moon reflected its light onto the spotless windows, the lampposts illuminated the neat gardens, everything was as normal as it should be.  
However, in one tiny bedroom lay a fifteen year old boy, his face pressed uncomfortably onto the pillow-less mattress, as his emerald eyes stared into the darkness of the night watching the silver, blurred moon. His glasses lying somewhere feet away from him, forgotten. His dark, unruly hair was covered with dirt, the affect of not so much as running a comb through it since he had arrived back in his nightmarish home.

Harry didn't know what time it was, he was barely even aware of the date. Four weeks he had been in the one place where he least wanted to be out of anywhere in the world. Four whole weeks having to put up with the Dursley's. Aunt Petunia's constant demands to keep her house the tidiest of all the in street, Dudley's constant complaining and never ending insults, but worst of all to live with was his Uncle.

From the moment that Harry stepped into the Dursley's car at Kings Cross Station, he knew that this summer would be different. And that was definitely not good news…

He had considered it for a few moments, turning back telling the Weasley's, thinking of an excuse anything…but it was pointless. He could write to his Godfather, but what would he say?

_Dear Sirius_

_Hope you're okay? How has your mission been going?  
Oh, by the way, don't worry, but I need you to rescue me from my violet walrus Uncle._

_Say Hello to Professor Lupin for me._

_Harry _

Besides, even if he could think of the perfect way to voice exactly what had been going on under the roof of his own home, he wouldn't dare risk it.  
He may have only known Sirius for a year, but he knew him well enough to know that he was completely reckless, and would stop at nothing to rescue Harry and avenge him. He would turn his Uncle apart in seconds without even battering an eyelid and end up back in the very place he had spent twelve years locked up in…or even worse he would be caught and given the Dementor's kiss.

Harry would never forgive himself if he ever let his Godfather be hurt or locked up again, never mind having his soul sucked out until he was nothing but a shell of the man he once was.  
No, he would remain quiet, he would survive. There was only a few more weeks left of the summer holidays, and then once the teachers realized that he hadn't show up for the school year they would arrive and rescue him. He could survive. He would. He had no choice.

After all what was a few cuts and bruises when you had faced the darkest and most feared wizard of all time only mere weeks ago. When you had seen him be reborn and return to the full menacing power that he had been fourteen years before. When you had watched the boy you considered a friend die right before your very eyes.

Harry quickly squeezed his eyes shut trying to block out the memories of Cedric, the face of the demon that had haunted his nightmares for weeks.  
Harry winced as he turned on his side to stare up at the ceiling, wincing as he did so, not even bothered to look down at his ribs which were sure to be broken after the beating that Vernon had given him only hours before. He was aware of the fact that he was smelly, covered in blood which itself covered the clothes that he had been wearing for weeks on end. He simply didn't care anymore, he wasn't sure if he cared about anything…

After all what was there left to care about?

**Sirius/Remus P.O.V**

Sirius Black sat in the large kitchen of Twelve Grimmauld Place, the childhood home that he had sworn eighteen years ago that he would never return to. Then again, though when he was sixteen years old he had said many things that would never happen, that could never happen. He had said he would still be win James in a duel when they were old men, he had said that he would always be his greatest friend, that the four marauders would live on forever, that together the four of them would teach all of each other's children to take their rightful place as the second generation of Marauders at Hogwarts.

None of that had ever happened, James hadn't lived to be an old man, he was barely even a man when he died. He hadn't been the greatest friend. He had let him down. There were only two Marauders left, and finally they wouldn't teach each other's children, because there was only one child. There would only ever be Harry. And he had even failed in that respect…

Sirius sighed as he ran a hand down his face, he had found himself yet again sitting on one of the hard wooden seats at the long kitchen table, and a half drank glass of fire whisky in front of him just waiting to drown all of his thoughts and memories away.

"Up again?" A voice interrupted his thoughts.

Sirius turned in his seat to face Remus, dressed in a grey night robe, his face worn and scarred, his eyes reflecting the exhaustion in them. He seemed to be so much older than his years, he was after all only in his mid-thirties.

"Yeah." Sirius replied in a gruff voice as he went back to staring at the table, carefully swirling his firewhisky around in its glass. He felt rather than saw Remus walk around him to sit at the opposite side of the table, directly facing him.

"Are you sure you should be drinking that?" Remus asked him firmly, gesturing to the glass infront of him

"Don't worry" Sirius replied as he took another sip, swalling back the foul, harsh taste. "I can still see straight."

"That's not the point." Remus replied as Sirius rolled his eyes and placed the glass back down.

"Why are you up?" Sirius asked deciding to change the subject.

"I couldn't sleep." Remus replied honestly. "I didn't hear you go to bed. Thought I would check on you."

"Always the mother hen." Sirius snorted.

"Someone has to be." Remus replied with a small silence.

They sat in silence for what felt like hours, but was only minutes.

"Harry's fine, you know." Remus told him, knowing Sirius far too well to not know what was really bothering him.

Sirius looked up at him, he always did know exactly what was bothering him, ever since school he had been the most tactful, empathetic one. Maybe that's what happened when you were a Werewolf, constantly being insulted and looked down on by society. But then again maybe it just came naturally when you were so close to somewhere, even if it had been twelve years since they had really spent any time in each other's company.

"You can't know that." Sirius sighed. "None of us do. This is Harry we're talking about. Even if he was falling into a million pieces we couldn't know, he certainly wouldn't tell us."

"No." Remus admitted "In the years that I taught him in school I learned a bit about him, and if there was one thing I picked up on it was his sense of independency and maturity. Certainly didn't get that off James."

Sirius let out a bark of a laugh, no he was certainly right there.

"You should have seen him, Mooney." Sirius told him, his smile disappearing. "The night I left, when Voldemort came back. He was acting brave, almost as though he had a mask on…but I could see it. In his eyes. He was terrified."

"Of course he was - even Harry gets scared sometimes. Especially after what he has been through."

"I should never have left him." Sirius sighed. Guilt had been eating him up for weeks, of course he had no choice, he had had to do his duty. He knew that Harry understood, but that didn't make him feel like any less of a failure as a Godfather. At least his decision to leave hadn't been as bad as the one he had made all of those years ago when he had handed Harry over to Hagrid before taking off after Pettigrew in a bid for revenge.

"Dumbledore said Harry could maybe come here for the last couple of weeks of the holidays." Remus reminded Sirius in an attempt to cheer him up.

Sirius grinded his teeth, trying to ignore his hatred for the headmaster, why was it up to him when he could and couldn't see Harry? He was his Godfather. He should have been the one to raise Harry in the first place. Lily and James never would have wanted Harry to go to Petunia and Vernon, not after what he had heard about them.

"It's not enough." Sirius growled. "He hasn't even replied to my letters, Remus! I'm telling you either something is going on with him or he hates me just as much as I know he should!"

"He doesn't hate you!" Remus firmly told Sirius, looking him in the eyes. "You know he couldn't. Harry is the kindest boy I have ever met, I'm not sure if he is even capable of hate. And Especially not for you."

"Then what?" demanded Sirius, a slightly crazed look in his eyes. "If he doesn't hate me then what? I've already told Dumbledore! That old fool won't do anything about it! `He's a teenager!' He says! 'Just give him time, I would know if something was wrong'!"

"Sirius calm down." Remus calmly told him as he watched his friend panic, ignoring his own worry in an attempt to settle him. "I am just as worried as you are. But Dumbledore could be right, there could be a completely logical reason behind this."

"Do you really believe that?" Sirius asked him, looking into his golden eyes, already knowing the truth.

Remus opened his mouth to tell him that yes, yes he was certain that Harry was absolutely fine, but his words failed him. He knew that there was no guarantee that Dumbledore was right, that Harry simply needed time on his own.

Sirius let out a groan of frustration as he realised that Remus knew just as much as he did that it wasn't normal for Harry to spend so long ignoring them. From what he had gathered from Ron and Hermione and his own correspondence with Harry, he would almost always reply to a letter within a matter of hours.  
If anything had happened to him…

Sirius's chair fell to the ground with a BANG as he quickly stood up and made to head for the door.

"Where are you going?" Remus asked a slight note of panic in her voice.

"If Dumbledore won't do anything about it then I will!" Sirius snapped as he climbed the steps, through the dark and eerie porch leading out to the street.

"Sirius! Stop! Just think for a moment!" Remus exclaimed as he grabbed his friend by the shoulder, forcing him to turn around and face him. "If you go out there like that you will be caught in an instant! You'll be locked up!"

"Do you think I care!" Sirius practically yelled at him. "Harry could be hurt or anything! We might already be too late…"

"Do you think I don't know." Remus hissed, still holding him by the shoulders.

"We have to save him, Remus!" Sirius snapped, panic once again setting in as he struggled against the strong grip.

"And we will." Remus insisted "But if you get yourself locked up again what good would you be to Harry? He would never forgive himself! And what about me? You're the only friend I have left. Me and Harry need you."

Sirius stopped struggling almost instantly as he once again looked into Remus' worn face. He knew that he was right. He had already lost Harry once, condemned him to a life living with two of the most awful people he had had the misfortune to know. He would not make the mistake of screwing up again.  
And Remus was right from what he had learned over the last month or two, Sirius and Harry hadn't been the only ones to suffer during those years. Remus needed him just as much as he himself needed him.

"We'll write him a letter." Remus told him, grateful that he had calmed down slightly. "Tell him that we're worried, that we need to have a reply, and if we don't get an answer then…then we will go and get him. With or without Dumbledore's permission."

Sirius opened his mouth to argue, before he snapped it shut again and silently nodding, giving in as Remus' grip disappeared.

Sirius hurried to the study to write his panicked and desperate letter to Harry, leaving Remus behind by the stairs. His thoughts were on Harry, and Harry only. He stared up at the moon through the window, not knowing that dozens of miles away Harry Potter lay staring up at the exact same moon, silently praying that someone would think of him soon. His beaten body aching all over, terrified of what would come once the moon and the night had disappeared.

**There you go!.. Hope you enjoyed my first chapter**

**I'm not entirely sure when I'm going to update, it will most likely depend on the response of this first chapter as to if I continue. **

**Feel free to favourite, or Follow, or Review my story **

**Thank You :D **


	2. Abandoned

**I would just like to say a massive Thank You to everyone who has reviewed, favourite, and followed my story – it means the world to me and I hope you all enjoy Chapter 2: **

**Disclaimer: Sadly Harry Potter does not belong to me **

**Harry P.O.V**

Harry Potter slowly opened his eyes as the sun shone through the spotless glass windows of his small bedroom. He winced as is the light directly hit his bruised eyes, shining so brightly that it hurt.  
If Harry had spared a glance at the clock on his desk he would have seen that it was barely 6am - a whole hour and a half of sleep, more than he had had at once throughout the entire summer.

It certainly hadn't been a peaceful sleep though, he had lost the privilege of having peaceful dreams two months ago when he had watched Cedric die right before his eyes. When Voldemort had returned to power after tying him to a gravestone, being forced to duel, seeing his parents and Cedric's ghosts…  
Harry quickly shut his eyes again as the images that had haunted his nightmares for weeks came rushing back to him all playing before his eyes as it had happened that fateful night. Even when he closed his eyes, squeezing them shut with all of his might, he couldn't get rid of those memories.

Even the pain caused from his cuts and bruises after countless beatings from Vernon couldn't match the pain that soared through him every time he remembered that night in the Graveyard.

A loud creak came from outside the door pulling Harry from his agonizing thoughts, the creaking of the wooden floorboards got louder and louder as whoever was out there came nearer and nearer to his bedroom.  
Uncle Vernon.  
It was the only person Harry could think of who would be up at this time of morning. Harry started trembling with horror, his face turned even paler than it already was, his whole body was aching even more from the shaking. Why was he here? Hadn't he gotten enough the night before? Wasn't it enough that it felt like his body was on fire, that every bone was broken? Or perhaps he'd finally had enough?  
Was that it had Vernon finally realised that sooner or later somebody would either find out or he would have to clear up the mess that he had made? There was only two ways that this could end. Harry had known it for weeks – ever since the first beating.  
Either Vernon stopped the beatings, gave plenty of time for the bruises to heal, or he would realise that sooner or later somebody would come and they would find out exactly what he had been doing to his nephew for so long. Harry knew that when the beatings continued time after time that it certainly wasn't going to be the first option.

Harry clenched his eyes shut yet again, silently praying to anybody who was listening not to let this be it. He would never see him again, his friends – Hermione, The Weasley's. He would never see Sirius again, or Professor Lupin for that matter. He would even miss Snape to an extent.

The door cracked open as whoever was there stood for moments simply staring at Harry. Slowly, he began to open his eyes again, still trembling, his eyes wide with fear.  
Standing there staring down at the terrified fifteen year old boy, a look of disgust on their face was Aunt Petunia. Her bony horse-like face did not show the tiniest hint of worry or concern or regret.

All the same, Harry was relieved that it was anybody but Uncle Vernon.

"Get up now!" Petunia demanded in her usual snotty voice. "Dudders will be up soon and he wants his breakfast before he goes out for the day!"

Harry could only groan in reply, he barely even had the ability to use his own voice any more, Petunia just continued to stare at him impatiently, her arms crossed, tapping her foot.

"Enough of that! Come downstairs now and cook his breakfast!" She almost yelled at him.

But Harry could only stare at her, silently pleading for her to go away and leave him alone to suffer in peace. She was obviously getting nearer and nearer to giving him a harsh slap herself.

Harry knew he better move, there was no telling what she would do if he didn't make her precious baby's breakfast. With or without Vernon, it wouldn't be the first time that she had hit him.  
He forced himself to move as quick as he could, which wasn't very fast at all. His legs felt as though they just wanted to collapse, he could feel every single bruise and knew without a doubt that it had to at least be badly sprained.  
Petunia was finally starting to regain the little patience that she had as Harry stood up.

But Harry had hardly moved a few steps when he collapsed to the ground on all fours, panting in agony as he did so, refusing to let the tears leave his eyes and give them the satisfaction of knowing just how much they had hurt him.

"You stupid boy!" Petunia shouted at Harry, causing him to wince as she did so. "You can't do anything can you! Either you come and make breakfast now or I'll go and get Vernon!"

Harry knew that she wasn't joking, far from it in fact – she would make sure that Vernon knew, and she would make sure that he punished him…hard. But no matter how hard he tried, no matter how much effort and force he put into it, his weak legs would barely let him move, never mind stand.

Finally Petunia had had enough as she marched out of the room, muttering about what an idiotic hopeless waste of space he was, and no doubt going to tell Vernon exactly what had just happened.

**Remus / Sirius P.O.V**

Sirius Black was sitting in the kitchen of Number 12 Grimmauld Place, the worst place he could possibly think to be, and not just because it was the one of the few places where he had always felt so utterly miserable, but because Harry wasn't there.

Sirius was always one to be protective of those close to him, he knew what it felt like, but this was going above and beyond any normal concern. He hadn't slept. Not at all. Every time he had rolled over in his comfortable bed he would be ridden by images and thoughts of what could have been happening to his own Godson at that very moment. The second he had fallen asleep he had been delved into a nightmarish world. A world where everything and anything was happening to Harry. He had watched as Harry had been tortured, as he screamed with pain, as he pleaded for somebody – anybody to come and rescue him. He had watched as Harry had endured pain after pain, all the while helpless to do anything to save hm.

Sirius was quickly pulled from his thoughts by the sound of the door creaking loudly as Remus walked into the kitchen looking if possible even worse than him. There was no doubt that he wasn't the only one who had barely slept.

"You too?" Sirius asked him as Remus put the kettle on to boil.

"Not a wink." Remus replied dryly walking around to sit opposite Sirius.

They both sat in silence for what seemed like hours, the only sound in the silent house was the whistling from the boiling kettle.

"Have you had a reply?" Remus asked quietly, breaking the tense silence between them.

Sirius silently shook his head.

"He might not have got it yet." Remus replied trying to convince himself as much as Sirius. "You only sent it last night. Surrey is miles away."

"I know." Sirius sighed. "But what if he has got it? What if he can't reply? He could be injured or he could be…" Sirius broke of the sentence, closing his eyes in horror – he would not let himself think that. Harry would be fine. They would know if he was…

"He's still alive, Padfoot." Remus told him using his old nickname, successfully bringing Sirius` attention away from his depressing thoughts.

Of course Sirius knew that at the worse he would only be severely injured, the wards would have shut down if anything worse than that had happened. But wasn't that bad enough? The pure thought that Harry could be in agony at that very second…he could slowly be rotting away….

"We have to go and get him now!" Sirius exclaimed as he slammed his hands down on the table in anger. "We can't wait anymore, Remus, and you know it!"

Remus remained silent as Sirius let his anger overtake him, doing everything in his power to remain calm and collected – one of them had to.

"Sirius…" He quietly started.

"No!" Sirius interrupted. "Dumbledore be damned! If we don't do something about it, then we will regret it for the rest of our lives! James and Lily would never forgive us! He's their son, Remus! He's My Godson! And what about you! Surely he has to mean something to you!"

Sirius regretted his last words as soon as they came out, he knew that Harry meant something to Remus, more than something. He was his nephew in everything but blood.

"Of course he does!" Remus exclaimed, before he took another deep breath. "You know he does. He means just as much to me as he does to you."

"I know." Sirius whispered as he sat back down, staring at the table with a mixture of worry, regret, and sadness.

"Okay." Remus said so quietly that Sirius had to strain to hear. "We'll go and get him. Now."

For the first time in days Sirius had a real smile on his face, of course behind there was an overbearing fear of what he would find when he finally got to Harry, but this was it. He would finally get Harry, he would get him and then he would worry about the consequences.

**Harry P.O.V**

Harry lay on the floor in agony, wincing at the pain that soared through him with every breath that he breathed. He didn't dare even try to move off of the floor, there was no telling just what would happen if he did – he wouldn't be surprised if his entire body shut down. New bruises had already started to show up all over his body, he could feel the wet trickle of blood running down from a cut on his head.

Petunia had followed through with her promise to him. The moment that she realised that Harry would not be getting up to make her precious Dudley's breakfast she had ran crying to her husband. Harry could only imagine exactly what she would have said to him. He had only just managed to catch the odd word ….freak….taught a lesson….

As soon as Harry had realised where she had gone, fear had flooded through him, he had been beyond terrified, he knew what would happen and there was nothing in his power that could stop him.

He had already been in so much pain before Vernon had appeared in the door, his beefy face red with anger, fuming so much that it appeared as though he would explode.  
But that didn't stop him from feeling every single punch, kick, and hit that was administered to his already frail body. It seemed to go on forever, one insult after another, drilling the truth into Harry's mind of exactly what he was.

He was unwanted.

Unloved.

A Freak!

Who could ever love a freak?

Wasn't that why nobody had come, why nobody had wrote – because they didn't want anything to do with a person like him – a burden.

Harry was pulled from his painful thoughts as his eye caught onto what looked like a white ball of fur sitting by the window. Harry squinted his eyes trying to see the best that he could without his glasses. The more he squinted, the quicker he realised that what was sitting on the window was an owl. But why would an owl be here? He hadn't done anything to warrant a letter from the ministry, or Hogwarts. And none of his friends would write to him … he didn't have any friends…not anymore.  
But there was no other explanation.

What if it really was from someone – one of the Weasley's, or Sirius perhaps? What if they had realised that he hadn't spoken to anyone all summer - that he hadn't even set foot outside of the house.

What if they came here? Came to get him? They would find him, and know exactly what life with the Dursley's had been like all of these years, that he really was a freak, that he was unlovable.  
He had to reply. It was the only way. If he replied to whoever had written in the letter, told them that he was okay, then they wouldn't know and everything could go back to normal.

Harry put every bit of effort that he had into moving, he tried to drag himself across the floorboards towards the owl, but every time that he did so he had to bite his lip to stop himself from crying out in pain. There was no doubt that nearly every part of his body was injured, but he had to make it. He had to reply.

Harry gave one more painful move as he managed to drag himself to the window where the owl was staring down at him with wide eyes, the letter trapped in its beak. Harry slowly raised his body to reach for the letter, but just as he managed to stand on his feet, his entire body gave way, leaving him to crash onto the ground with a scream of pain.  
Harry gasped in agony, in the distance he could make out the sound of footsteps stamping their way towards him before his uncle appeared in the doorway, looking even angrier than he had done that morning.

Before Harry could take in what was happening, he felt a sharp kick to his stomach, as he clutched it letting out a cry and a groan of pain before everything went dark.

**Thank You for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you did feel free to follow, favourite, and review! It really does mean a lot! :D**


	3. Rescued

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me unfortunately. **

**Harry P.O.V.**

Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, lay unconscious on the blood stained floor of his bedroom in Number 4 Privet Drive. Vernon had issued him one last swift kick in the stomach before storming out of room, anger at his ungrateful nephew boiling off of him.  
Harry whimpered even in his passed out state as memory after memory tortured his nightmares, Vernon, The Graveyard, Voldemort, every single awful second that he had lived through torturing him.

Nobody cared anymore, Harry knew that, his Uncle had drilled it into his head long ago. After all who would bother to go to the effort of giving him a second thought?

**Sirius / Remus P.O.V.**

Sirius and Remus both let out a groan as they landed slap bang onto the pavement just minutes from the quiet street of Privet Drive.

"I hate apparating." Sirius moaned as he dusted himself off with his rough hands, Remus did the same, but it didn't make difference to his tatty robes.

"If you're done with your self-grooming, Padfoot, I suggest that we go and get your Godson." This quickly pulled Sirius from his thoughts as he stopped fussing over his robes, and marched out of the dark alleyway that they had landed in.

Sirius had barely made his way out of the alley when he felt a strong hand grab the bag of his robes, startled he swiftly turned to face Remus who was staring at him as though he were crazy.

"What do you think you're doing?" Remus hissed at Sirius. "Do you want to get caught?"

"No, I want to see Harry." Sirius replied before yet again turning to leave, but Remus was too quick as he blocked his way.

"Either you change right now, or I'm sending you back home." Remus sternly told him, ignoring Sirius` roll of his eyes. Remus continued to stare at his friend until Sirius changed into his dog form with a sigh, giving Remus a look that said:

"Happy?"

"Good….now let's go."

Both friends walked silently down the streets in the growing darkness, neither making a sound as they came nearer and nearer to the house that Harry had been forced to live in for the last fourteen years of his life. Neither knowing nor prepared for what they would find once they finally got to Harry.

Sirius stared at the perfectly clean white door with the number four attached to it before he looked up at Remus who was nervously adjusting his robes, almost as though he actually cared what the vermin that Harry called his family would think.

BARK!

Remus quickly looked at Sirius before he nodded, gathering his thoughts and abandoning all cares of his dishevelled appearance.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Remus hammered on the door, ignoring Sirius as he shuffled nervously beside him anxious to get to his Godson now that he was only mere seconds away from seeing him.

A gruff voice could be heard indistinctly complaining inside the house before the door opened and the large, beefy form of Uncle Vernon appeared in the doorway.

"Yes?" Vernon asked in his gruff voice.

"Good evening." Remus started politely, his hands in his pockets. "I'm looking for Harry Potter."

"Nobody of that name lives here!" Vernon exclaimed before he made to slam the door shut, but Remus was too quick and caught the door with his foot.

"Mr Dursley, I can assure you that I know fine well that your nephew lives here." Remus said sternly, his patience quickly wearing thin, he could sense the worry and nervousness coming off of Vernon and it was making him nervous.

"Harry Potter doesn't live here, now leave before I call the Police!" Vernon shouted at him, before he caught himself and looked up and down the street nervously.

Vernon was suddenly startled by Sirius' vicious growling, his eyes wide baring into his own. Sirius was beyond angry, far, far beyond angry. Remus wasn't the only one who could sense just how scared the pig of a man in front of them was…just what had he done to Harry that would make him so nervous?

"Let me rephrase that…" Remus said calmly, but there was no doubting the edge on his voice as he discreetly pointed his wand at him. "Show me where Harry is now."

By now Vernon was psychically shaking with fear, he couldn't show these freaks where the brat was! He didn't even know if he was still alive! He had to get rid of them!

Sirius had seen enough as he barged past him, resisting the temptation to bite him in the process. He ran up the stairs, not even caring for the glare and sigh of frustration that Remus sent his way, all that mattered was Harry.

He quickly turned into his human form as he looked around the landing, trying to find the room that would be Harry's. He knew it as soon as he saw it. He didn't have time to count the amount of locks that those muggles had had the nerve to put on his door.

"Alohomora!" Sirius said as he tapped the locks with his wand, it seemed to take hours for all of the locks to come undone as he broke into his godson's bedroom.

Sirius couldn't breathe. It had been weeks since he had seen Harry, and each day that had gone by he imagined over and over again finally seeing his precious Godson again. He knew that something must have happened to Harry. He wouldn't ignore his letters for no reason. But nothing – nothing could have prepared him for the sight before him.

Meanwhile downstairs, Remus was attempting to keep calm as Vernon demanded that he leave his property. He was just about to snap at him when he heard Sirius' desperate scream.

"REMUS!"

Remus didn't hesitate as he barged past Vernon and fled up the stairs to where he found Sirius standing in the doorway of one of the four bedrooms.

"Sirius, what…" Remus started, his eyes wide with panic, before his eyes followed Sirius', he had never seen his friend look so afraid, and now he knew why.  
There lying on the floor in a pool of his blood was the boy he considered to be his own nephew.

"Harry." Remus choked in a strangled breath as he fell by the boy's side, carefully turning him over so that he was face to face with him. It took every ounce of effort in his body to not vomit at the sight of Harry. What he could see of his body was completely covered in bruises, and countless cuts. His face was barely recognizable so much blood was covering it, it was obvious that he had suffered nasty head wound.

"What have they done?" Remus breathed in horror before he looked towards Sirius who was still standing in the doorway looking more vulnerable than Remus had ever seen him, but he couldn't help him, not now.

"Sirius!" Remus exclaimed as Sirius came back to his senses and kneeled opposite Remus as he moved to pull his Godson's frail body into his arms.

"Don't!" Remus snapped as Sirius looked at him with wide eyes. "You might hurt him."

It took everything in Sirius not to ignore Remus' words as guilt poured through him.

"Is he…" Sirius choked, not even sure if he wanted to know the answer to his unfinished question.

"No." Remus told him, letting out his own breath of relief as he felt Harry's pulse. "He's alive...his pulse is weak. We can't do anything here, Sirius, we have to move him."

Sirius nodded frantically as he grasped Harry's small hand in his own, silently praying that he would be okay.

A groan came from Harry's body which quickly caught both Remus and Sirius' attention, their eyes never leaving him.

"Harry?" Sirius whispered, as he gently stroked his head, ignoring the blood that was appearing on his hand from Harry's head. "Harry, it's okay…you're safe now…just wake up."

"S…r…us?" Harry managed to slowly gasp out as he opened his eyes to meet a pair of blue ones that reflected worry, fear, and to Harry's amazement, love, but why would there be love in them?

"Yeah. It's me, Harry. We came to get you – me and Remus." Sirius felt a tear stroll down his cheek, which he unashamedly let fall as Remus watched the pair from the other side.

"Why…" Harry choked out, but his throat was aching from its lack of use.

"Because we love you." Sirius told him simply, his heart-breaking at Harry's single worded question, and the look of confusion and disbelief in his eyes at Sirius' reply. "God, Harry, how could they? We knew something was wrong, but I never…I'm so sorry."

"My….fault" Harry gasped as he struggled to remain conscious.

"No….No….it's not….it's my fault. I never should have left you." Sirius was struggling to keep his emotions in check as he looked down at his innocent, beaten Godson. He noticed his eyes beginning to flicker close, but the determination in them to stay awake.  
"It's okay, go to sleep, I won't leave you again. I promise."

Within seconds Harry had returned to blissful unconsciousness as Sirius looked across at Remus, horrified at the events that they had suddenly found themselves in.

"What are we going to do?" Sirius asked Remus, still looking incredibly vulnerable in the Werewolves eyes.

"We're going to take him home." Remus replied before he jumped into action and looked around, ready to pack Harry's things for him. He was disgusted at how empty the room, it looked more like a rotten prison than a teenagers bedroom. The only possessions of Harry's that he could find was a photo of Lily and James that sat by his bed and a few quills. There was no sign of his trunk or any other personal possessions.

"Is this it?" Remus asked himself. Sirius looked up from where he was sitting next to Harry.

"What about his trunk?" Sirius asked.

"We can come back for it." Remus decided as he took in Harry's form once again, there was no doubting that his breathing was becoming shallower.

Sirius nodded as Remus conjured up a stretcher which he carefully levitated Harry onto, wincing every time he unconsciously flinched in pain, right now all that mattered was that Harry was safe.

The two Marauders made their way down the stairs, Remus being careful to keep an eye on the levitated stretcher as Sirius stayed by Harry's side, clinging to his hand.

"They've gone." Sirius growled as they looked around at where only ten minutes ago the Dursley's had been cowering. "The stinking coward…"

"Sirius, we can think about this later, right now we have to get Harry help." Remus reminded him softly with just a note of the anxiety that he was feeling.

Sirius of course knew that he was right, Harry was what mattered most of all, but there was still a part of him that wanted nothing more than to teach the Dursley's a lesson, to let them know exactly what happened when they hurt somebody that he loved.  
He wanted to take off after them, after all they were only muggles they couldn't have got that far…

"Sirius." Remus quietly said, sensing his thoughts. "Don't do this. Harry needs you. Don't choose revenge….not this time."

Those words were like a knife through Sirius' heart, but Remus was right. He looked at Harry and then looked around the Dursley's home. This was what had happened the last time he had chosen to get revenge, when he had chased after Pettigrew that night he had condemned Harry to a life with the Dursley's. He was not about to let that happen again.

He nodded to Remus as they both walked out the door, but not before Sirius vowed to make them pay…one way or another.

**I hope that you all enjoyed Chapter Three! **

**And if you did feel free to favourite, follow, or review! Anyone who has any ideas or thoughts on the story and future chapters feel free to let me know! :D **

**Until Next Time….**


	4. Saving Harry

**Hi! Sorry for the long wait but I've had a bad case of writers block! I hope this chapter is okay and that you all enjoy it! **

Remus and Sirius walked down the silent street on Privet Drive, the sky was still stained with an eerie darkness.  
Neither made a sound as they continued down the road that seemed to be never ending. Sirius clung to his Godson's hand, silently praying that it wouldn't be too late to save him, paying no attention to Remus' concerned glances.  
He mentally went through every last second when he last saw Harry at Hogwarts on that awful night in June. He had looked so pale and afraid, tortured by the events that he had witnessed. Sirius had never been more scared for him, after all how could a fourteen year old boy cope with the horrors that he had seen?  
Sirius couldn't remember ever feeling so scared in his life, not even on that horrific Halloween night when he had ran to James' praying that he wouldn't find the scene that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Remus watched Sirius carefully, he was almost as pale as Harry, his eyes flicked back and forth as though he was mentally battling with himself. He looked almost as bad as when he had first escaped Azkaban.  
Not that Remus could blame him, his mind was struggling to register what had occurred in the past hour or two. Remus knew once Harry hadn't replied to their letter that something would be wrong, but he never could have imagined that they would find Harry in such a state.

"We are here." Remus said in a strangled voice, before he attempted to clear his throat and retain his composure.

Sirius looked up only to find that they had finally arrived at the apparition point. It seemed to have taken an age to reach. Remus gestured to Sirius to grab a hold of the stretcher, as he held the other side.

"Ready?" Remus asked him with a grim smile as Sirius nodded, their hands joining as they apparated together, clinging to Harry as though their life depended on it.

Remus and Sirius landed with a THUD! Only just managing to keep a hold of the stretcher which Harry's body was lying on.

"Harry!" Sirius exclaimed in a panicked voice as he quickly picked himself up.

"He's okay." Remus assured him, looking down at the battered teenager, checking his pulse as he did so. "We need to get him looked at though, his pulse is still weak."

Sirius stared at Remus for a few moments, both of them trying to decide what to do now that they had got Harry at Grimmauld Place.

"Maybe we should tell Dumbledore." Remus cautiously suggested expecting his friend's frustration before it came.

"And what will he do, Remus!" Sirius exclaimed, noticing Harry wince in his sleep as he tried to calm himself. "He will send him right back to the Dursley's, and you know it! He can't be trusted! Not with this!"

Remus watched Sirius for a few moments before he looked down at Harry, his face scrunched up with pain even in his sleep. Sirius was right. There was no knowing what Dumbledore would do – he had already let things get this far. If they hadn't listened to Dumbledore and went for Harry as soon as summer started then he would have been safe.

"Okay. We don't tell Dumbledore…yet." Remus agreed "But we have got to do something…the more time we argue, the worse Harry will get. Let's just get him to bed, and then we'll figure it out."

Sirius nodded sharply, before he carefully picked Harry up, and carried him up the flight of staircase until they finally reached the room which they had spent all summer arranging. Remus pushed the door open as Sirius rushed inside, pulling back the red velvet covers of the bed and placing Harry onto the comfortable, clean sheets.  
The entire room was perfectly fit for a Gryffindor, banners hung from the walls, the large double bed was covered in the signature colours of red and yellow. They had thought of every little detail in the hope that Harry would like it, but they never could have imagined that when Harry first saw it he would be lying in bed, bruised and battered, fighting for his own life.

Sirius quickly pulled back the covers and kneeled on the floor, stroking his Godson's blood-stained hair, not caring for the specs of blood that he got on his own hands. If it weren't for the faint shallow breathing, he would have thought that he had already lost him for good.

"We need to get a Healer." Remus told him, battling himself as he desperately resisted running over to Harry and crying over his form, begging him to wake up. He had to remain calm and in control …. Harry and Sirius were depending on him.

"Who?" Sirius asked, not once taking his eyes away from Harry's, wanting nothing more than to see those emerald eyes of his.

"I don't know." Remus admitted with a sigh. "We could take him to St Mungo's but…."

"No!" Sirius snapped before Remus could even finish his question "We're not taking him to St Mungo's. It'll be too easy for someone to get to him, anyone could get in there, Death Eaters, Voldemort…never mind Dumbledore."

Sirius was right, if they sent Harry to St Mungos there would be no guarantee that he would have protection against anyone who tried to get to him. The daily prophet would be over it, sickingly using it to their advantage to make the Boy-Who-Lived seem crazy and deranged.

"Or Snape…." Remus suggested, not in the least bit surprised when Sirius shot him a look of disgust.

"Are you mad? Why don't we just hand him over to Voldemort and get it over with!" Sirius snapped, there was no way he was letting Snivellus near Harry.

"Well what do you suggest?" Remus snapped before he let out a sigh, running his hand through his quickly greying hair.

They both remained silent as Remus continued to watch Godfather and Godson.

"Madame Pomfrey." Sirius said quietly as Remus looked at him with a frown.

"What?"

"Poppy." Sirius said more clearly as he turned away from Harry. "She won't tell, Dumbledore. We can trust her. She knows about me and she never told anybody. She has the most experience with treating Harry, we need someone around him who he can trust."

Remus contemplated the option for a few moments, trying to decide whether or not Poppy Pomfrey was a suitable option. He was quickly pulled out of his thoughts as Harry started to cry out in pain, twisting in his sleep, his face scrunched up in agony.

"Remus, do something!" Sirius shouted at him as he panicked, desperately trying to hold Harry still to stop him from doing any more damage to himself. Remus ran out of the room as quick as he could leaving Sirius to deal with his Godson.

"Harry, Harry…." Sirius called out to him as he pinned his hands down to the bed with one hand, while he stroked his hair with the other. "It's okay, Harry, you're safe. Just relax. It's okay, you're okay."

It felt like an eternity to Sirius as he stroked His hair, and whispered nonsense comforting words to him, until eventually he fell back into his somewhat peaceful sleep. At that very second Madame Pomfrey rushed into the room, stopping short at the sight of Harry.

"Oh My…." She gasped, a hand coming up to her mouth to stop the gasp from escaping. "Let me see him." She ordered as she pushed Sirius out of the way, only having eyes for her patient.

"It will be better if you two leave." She told Sirius and Remus as she pulled several items out of her bag and lined them up on the desk. "You aren't doing anyone any good hovering around."

"But…" Sirius started to protest, but was cut off as Remus placed his hand on his shoulder, and guided him out of the room, firmly but gently.

"Come on, Sirius. Leave her to work."

Sirius could barely even protest as he was guided out of his room, having one last view of his Godson's broken and beated body, as the Hogwarts nurse desperately tried to save him.

It seemed to feel as though an age had gone by as Sirius and Remus waited anxiously in the Kitchen of Number 12 Grimmauld Place, their mind on one thing and one thing only.

Remus tapped his hands nervously as he sat in the hard wooden chair while Sirius paced back and forth, his hands gripping his hair.

"Would you sit down, Padfoot?" Remus snapped having reached the end of his tether. Sirius stared at him with a frown on his haunted face. "Sorry." Remus sighed.

Sirius opened his mouth to say something but one look at his worn friend quickly quited him. He looked almost as bad as he did after a particularly rough full moon night.

"What's taking her so long?" Sirius asked, not expecting an answer.

"You saw Harry…" Remus started quietly. "She could be hours, and that's if…"

"Don't!" Sirius exclaimed as he threw his hands in the air. "Harry will be fine. He's strong."

Remus knew that of course. He knew that Harry was strong and brave, but even the strongest of people have a point when they would break. Harry had been through so much in his years at Hogwarts alone, but Hogwarts was different…they knew that there was danger…how had no one seen that his own family were abusing him?

Remus was pulled from his thoughts as Madame Pomfrey walked through the door, her face slightly paled and grim.

"How is he?" Sirius asked immediately as he raced towards her.

"Mr Potter has been through a lot this summer and it has had lasting damage." She stated grimly as they both watched her with their full attention. "His injuries are quite extensive, but I've done the best that I can for him."

A million thoughts were rushing through Sirius' head at once, extensive? Lasting Damage? He knew Harry was injured, it was painfully obvious, but he would be okay, wouldn't he?

"He has broken ribs, which I have managed to heal, although they will hurt for a while. Both arms and wrists are broken, as well as his legs. I've managed to heal his arms but his legs will have to heal on his own…there's no telling when they will heal properly…"

"Or if they will heal at all." Remus finished grimly as he pinched the bridge of his nose while Sirius looked frantically between the two of them.

"What! They will heal, won't they?" Sirius exclaimed. "Harry has been through enough…"

"I know that, Mr Black." Madame Pomfrey said sharply. "We are all aware of the situation, but no. In all likelihood they will heal, but there is no guarantee. We can only wait and hope."

Sirius sunk down into the kitchen chair as the news of just how hurt Harry was set into his mind.

"He is badly bruised, and he will have several scars which are unlikely to fade." The room was silent for a few moments, the atmosphere tense, before Madame Pomfrey broke it. "Some of the scars seem to age back years."

"What?" Remus growled, his eyes darkened with fury, the wolf inside him ready to rip the Dursley's from shred to shred. "You mean to say….this has happened before?"

"There's no knowing just how far back this abuse goes…only Harry knows that. The thing I am most worried about is the emotional damage. If this has been happening for years then there will most likely be emotional and mental damage that no one noticed. But this summer would certainly have mentally scarred him."

"What can we do?" Remus asked, anxiously glancing at Sirius who seemed to have withdrawn into his mind, completely unaware of his surroundings.

"Be there for him." She told them quietly. "There is little else that you can do, as I said we won't know how extensive the damage is until he wakes up…we'll take it from there. I'll leave you potions for the malnourishment and nutrition potions."

Madame Pomfrey set all of the potions on the table along with several dreamless sleep potions and pain relieving potions.

"I must be getting back to the school." She said as she cast Sirius a worried glance.

"You won't tell Dumbledore, will you?" Remus asked her as she shut her lips tightly, looking as though she was in two minds.

"I won't tell the headmaster…for now. But he will find out, Dumbledore always has his ways." Madame Pomfrey told him, and Remus knew he was right. Dumbledore had eyes and ears everywhere, he always seemed to know what was going on.

Madame Pomfrey hurried out of the room after nodding a farewell to Remus.

"Sirius?" Remus softly said, as he placed his hand on his shoulder. "Sirius? She's gone. We can go see Harry now."

This seemed to pull Sirius out of his thoughts as he turned to Remus, his eyes full of emotions….pain and hatred and sadness all reflecting from them.

"What are we going to do?" Sirius whispered, his heart feeling as though it had been split into two.

Remus pulled him into a tight hug, clinging to him, his hand resting in his long dark hair, trying to battle off his own emotions. He could deal with them later when he was alone, after he had sorted Harry and Sirius.

Harry Potter was lying on the luxurious bed in the biggest bedroom of Grimmauld Place. His eyes closed looking as though he was only sleeping after an exhausting day of playing qudditch, seeing his friends, and enjoying the sun. But appearances can be deceiving.  
He certainly looked better than he did only a few hours before, though his face was still pale, the blood had been washed away, though his hair was still matted and unruly. Most of the bruising on his face had been faded by Madame Pomfrey. But there was still a thin scar running along from his cheek to his ear.

Sirius and Remus silently walked into the bedroom as they both looked at the boy who they had sworn long ago to protect … only to fail. Sirius walked to Harry's bed, sitting in the chair that Remus had conjured up for him, desperately searching Harry's face.

"Harry?" Sirius whispered, as he gently took his hand, the other lightly tracing the scar that ran along his cheek. "It's okay. I'm never leaving you again. I promise."

Remus watched Harry sadly, as he subconsciously traced his own scars on his worn face, while his other hand held Sirius' shoulder.

A soft moan filled the room as Sirius looked at Harry frantically wondering if he had finally lost it and started imagining things. Just as it dawned on him that he must have imagined it, there was another moan.  
There was no doubt about it… Harry was waking up.

**So there you go! Loved it? Hated it? Hope you liked it! **

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**Until Next Time…..**


	5. Waking Up

**Hi There! So sorry for the long wait and thanks to everyone who favourite and followed – You guys are awesome! , and everyone who reviewed the last chapter! A.K.A. The-Girl-Who-Dreamed, Harry Albus Potter Dumbledore, ObsessedwReading, and Nagagoo! **

Sirius' face snapped to Remus who had removed his own hand from his shoulder after hearing the exact same faint moan that had caused Sirius to look so alarmed.

"Did you hear that?" Sirius asked an edge of hope and panic in his tone, but Remus was paying any attention to him. He was staring at Harry as though a miracle had occurred, his eyes wide. Seeing this, Sirius quickly changed his direction back to Harry whose eyes were fluttering ever so slightly.

"Harry?" Sirius whispered before he cleared his throat and repeated in a louder voice. "Harry, it's okay. Come on, you can do it, wake up."

There was silence in the room for a few more moments as Sirius' grey dark eyes desperately stared at Harry's pale, still face.  
Maybe they had both imagined it. Maybe they were so desperate for him to be awake, just to prove to them both that he would be alright, that they had imagined it.

But, suddenly, there was another moan, and there was no denying that Harry was no longer unconscious, or at least not fully.

"Harry, squeeze my hand if you can hear me, okay?" Sirius said gently, as one hand gripped his Godson's, the other smoothing back his hair. "One squeeze", Sirius silently prayed, "please just let him be okay".

**Harry P.O.V.**

Everywhere was dark, there was no light, no light at all. Just darkness. He could almost make out a sound, a voice, but it seemed to be coming from hundreds of miles away. A mere echo in his mind. Where was he? What had happened? Why couldn't he see anything?

"Harry." The voice echoed. He could have sworn that he has heard that voice before. "Harry wake up."

Wake up? Who wanted him to wake up? Why would he have to wake up, unless…unless this was a dream. But if it was a dream why was it so dark? Why was it so still?

"Harry please, please, squeeze my hand. Please be okay." The voice pleaded again, the pain in it so very apparent.

It was obviously talking to him, and it obviously wanted him to wake up as well… if only he could. But who was it?

"Sirius…" Another male voice rang through the darkness. Sirius? Sirius. His Godfather, of course. As though a distant memory the image of Sirius' face appeared in Harry's mind. But why was he here? Why couldn't he see him?

He had to wake up. He had to get out of the darkness of wherever he was. Sirius had wanted him to squeeze a hand, but there was no hands anywhere, there was just never ending darkness. Harry attempted to clear him mind as he focused on one thing and one thing alone. His need to escape, and wake up. He thought of Sirius. Would he care? Would he care if he never escaped this place, if he never saw him again?

But then if he didn't why would he sound so desperate. Squeeze my hand he had said. Harry pictured his Godfather's hand in his, and as he thought it, he suddenly felt something, something gripping his hand, if he could just…

"Thank Merlin." Sirius breathed out with a sigh of relief. It had worked. "That's it, Harry, keep going." He squeezed again. A faint light had appeared before him, it was getting bigger and bigger as it came closer and closer, and Harry found that he could not move, he could do nothing but embrace it as it engulfed him.

Neither Sirius or Remus could believe what they were seeing, there was never any guarantee that Harry would survive the ordeal that the Dursley's had put him through, that he would wake up and yet here he was slowly but steadily regaining consciousness.

Sirius could have cried with joy as he felt Harry squeeze his hand…he was alive. He would see those emerald eyes of his that he had been terrified he would never see again.

"Harry, it's okay. You're okay, you're safe now." Sirius promised as Harry's eyes fluttered even more, they would open, he knew they would … they had to.

Suddenly emerald orbs were looking into misty grey eyes as Sirius finally laid eyes on Harry, his own watering up with relief and love.

"Sirius?" Harry choked out as he looked up at his Godfather. "Why...You shouldn't….be here. Not safe" Harry mumbled, his throat painfully dry.

"Shhh , Don't worry about that." Sirius soothed as he gently rubbed circles into Harry's hand. "You're at my house, nobody will get me here. Nobody will hurt you here."

It took barley a few seconds for the use of those words to dawn on Harry, even in his exhausted state. Nobody will hurt you here. They knew. They knew what had happened at the Dursley's What Uncle Vernon had done to him, the way Aunt Petunia and Dudley had treated him. The one secret that he had managed to keep to himself all of these years. They knew it all.

They had come to Privet Drive and they would have found him battered and bruised, weak, a piece of artwork in the eyes of his uncle. He had spent so long, worked so hard, just to make sure that not a single soul would find out what a weak pathetic freak he really was. He had hidden the evidence, told the odd white lies, and it had all been for nought.

As if sensing what Harry was so frantically thinking about Sirius pulled him from his thoughts.

"Harry. We found you in your bedroom…you were really badly injured. We weren't sure if you were going to make it." Sirius said using every ounce of will that he had. "You nearly died."

Maybe that would have been better. Harry thought, scolding himself for his lack of Gryffindor courage in the thought. If he had died then he wouldn't have had to face the aftermath. The looks of disgust and shame, the world knowing that the great boy who lived, the saviour of the wizarding world, couldn't even fight back a measly unmagical muggle.

"Harry, what happened?" Sirius asked him desperately, but he was cut off as Remus calmly but sternly said;

"Enough! Sirius, now is not the time to talk about this." Remus told him gesturing to Harry who had only just noticed that he and Sirius were not the only ones in the room.

So they both know? Harry thought as he noticed Professor Lupin was also in the room. Of course they would have gone together. The first time he had saw him in over a year and this was the state that he had found Harry in. He would be running miles away the first chance he got.

"Harry, you must be tired." Remus said kindly to the young teenager. "But I think that perhaps you should try to eat and drink something before you go back to sleep."

Food. Harry couldn't even remember the last time he had eaten, and his throat was desperately screaming out for water. But he couldn't. He had to get away before anyone else found out what had happened, what if Vernon came after him? What if someone showed up and found out Sirius was here. They would take him away.

"Thank you." Harry quietly said, to which both Sirius and Remus smiled sadly. "But I have to go. I can't stay here."

Both of their expressions quickly changed to those of worry and horror, as Harry attempted to get out of the bed with the desire to get away.

"No, Harry…" Sirius started, as he watched Harry struggle to get out of the bed, his face scrunched with pain. "You can't leave. Nobody will get you, I promise. Just listen…" But before he could say another word, Harry had let out a cry of pain as he collapsed to the floor, Remus only just managing to catch him as his legs gave out.

"Whoah!" Remus exclaimed as his Werewolf reflexes allowed him to catch the young man. "It's Okay, I've got you." He reassured him.

Sirius was quickly pulled out of his own thoughts as he rushed over to Remus, helping him settle Harry back into the bed, pulling the covers over him, despite his Godson's obvious desperation to leave.

"What…" Harry started to ask, a silent edge of fear in his voice. Why had his legs collapsed? Why he couldn't he as much as walk a single step?

"Your legs were injured." Sirius told him after a few moments, aware of both Remus and Harry watching him. "When your Uncle…when you were hurt. Madame Pomfrey's checked you over already, but…she doesn't know when they will heal."

Harry watched his Godfather. It was true that he hadn't known him for very long, the odd Hogsmeade day he had seen him on, the night in the shrieking shack, the night that Cedric had… the last night of the Triwizard Tournament. But he knew him well enough to know when he wasn't entirely telling the truth, and this was definitely one of those times.

"What aren't you telling me?" Harry asked nervously as Sirius and Remus both exchanged looks. Sirius opened his mouth as though to tell him, but found that all that came out was a choked noise, before he looked at the floor.  
Remus walked around Sirius' chair as he knelt on the ground next to Harry, gently placing a hand on Harry's lap, before pulling away as he flinched.

"Madame Pomfrey said your legs should heal, you more than likely just need time, but…" Remus chanced a glance at Sirius who had his head in his hands to Harry who was looking at him silently begging him not to make his world go crashing down. "But there's no guarantee that they will ever heal. You might not be able to walk again, Harry."

It was amazing how one sentence that could only take a matter of seconds to say could break a person. How it could make their world come tumbling down around them. It was safe to say that neither Remus nor Sirius or anyone else for that matter had ever seen Harry look quite so vulnerable as he did now.

"But…if I can't walk." Harry slowly said. "How am I going to defeat Voldemort?"

It broke a part of Sirius' heart that those were the first words to come out of his Godson's mouth after hearing that he may never walk, may never be able to fly a broom, win a qudditch match again. The only worry and thought on his mind was defeating the darkest wizard who had ever lived.

"Don't worry about that." Remus told him, his own eyes hardened with disgust or anger, Sirius could not tell, but he knew that more than likely he was thinking exactly the same thing as he was – just what had this world turned Harry into. He was not a solider. He was a boy. A teenage boy.

"I can't stay here…" Harry repeated. "I don't care whether I can walk or not, I can't be here. I'm putting you both in danger. Sirius, they could catch you…you'd go back to Azkaban, you'd…."

"We're protected here." Sirius reassured him. "The house has got certain wards on it, spells that will keep people away. Only a few people know where it is. Besides, I'm not leaving you. Not now when I've only just go you back. Me and Remus are going to protect you."

Harry watched the both of them looking at him with such devotion, so much so that he swore they almost reflected love, but then why would they? They were right though. They wouldn't let him leave, not when he was in the state that he was.

"Okay." Harry whispered, admitting defeat…for now.

"Right." Remus said, clapping his hands and standing up, getting back to business. "How about some food, Harry, you must be starving."

Harry couldn't see how he could actually manage to stomach any food after he had gone for so long with eating nothing, but the idea did sound somewhat appealing, so he silently nodded. He watched Remus leave the room, presumably to prepare food, leaving both him and Sirius alone.

The pair sat in silence for a few moments, Harry staring at the blanket where his legs were concealed, conscious of Sirius staring at him as though he would disappear at any moment.

"I missed you." Sirius told him quietly as Harry finally made eye contact with him. Harry didn't know whether he believed him or not. "You gave me the fright of my life…"

"Sorry." Harry apologised reflexively.

"There's nothing to apologise for." Sirius told him sadly. "I wish I knew. I could have helped you, I would never have let you go back there if I knew what they were doing to you. I wish you had told me."

"I'm not your burden." Harry told him quietly. Sirius frowned with concern and heartbreak, but before he could correct him, Remus came into the room carrying a tray with a bowl and a glass of ice cold water.

"I'm afraid soup will have to do for now, Harry." Remus told him with a soft smile. "Madame Pomfrey would probably be less than happy if we gave you anything more."

Harry gave a small smile in return as the tray was gently placed on his lap, he somehow doubted that he could handle anything stronger than soup even if the Hogwarts matron had ordered it.  
He moved to pick up the spoon as he dipped it into the piping hot soup, but suddenly became aware of the fact that he was shaking so much that the soup ended up on the bed sheets rather than in his mouth.

"Here." Sirius said as he pulled his chair forwards and took the spoon from Harry. "Let me."

Harry stared at him with mortification, giving him a look as though to say 'You are joking, aren't you?'. It was too embarrassing to admit that he couldn't even feed himself.

"It's nothing to be embaressed about." Sirius reassured him with a winning smile. "If it's any consolation we've all been in the same position. Remus has had to feed me, and I've certainly had the chance to feed our resident Werewolf a few times, haven't I Mooney."

Remus sent him a playful glare as Harry smiled slightly, but he still wasn't sure if he was comfortable with this. He was the boy who lived, he was supposed to be able to feed himself.

"You've been through a terrible ordeal." Remus told him as though sensing his thoughts. "Something that many other wizards may not have got through. You are still ill, Harry. Just let us help. Just because you can't walk or feed yourself doesn't make you any weaker than anyone else."

Harry didn't reply. He didn't say a word. But maybe Remus had a point, maybe, just maybe they didn't think of him as some useless, stupid boy. So he once again nodded and opened his mouth as Sirius fed him his soup, and helped him sip the refreshing water from the glass. Maybe everything would be alright after all.

**Thanks for reading! Hope you liked Chapter 5…or maybe you didn't? Let me know! Every Favourite, Follow, and Review means so much to me! Let me know any thoughts you have, any requests! **

**The next chapter should be up soon …. Dumbledore will also more than likely be maing an appearance!**

**So until next time … **


	6. Dumbledore!

**Hi There! Thanks for reading this far! Chapter 6! Hope you enjoy it and with a bit of luck make it right through to the end! :)**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter A.K.A. SherWatsonLocked, ObsessedwReading, Harry Albus Potter Dumbledore, Bookwormkat1, nagagoo, imaginationceleberation, and finally The-Girl-Who-Dreamed (Literally made my day!) :D **

Harry blinked sleepily. He wasn't entirely sure how long he had been unconscious since he left Privet Drive, but he was finding that keeping his eyes open was a more difficult task than he would have hoped for.

"You should sleep." Sirius told him as he settled the tray on the bedside table. "You look exhausted."

Harry nodded mutely, too tired and weak to speak. He hadn't felt so drained in a long time, not since that last night in the Hospital Wing. 'Don't think about that' Harry admonished himself. It only caused pain and hurt, pain that he could do nothing to better.

"We'll speak when you're awake, Harry." Remus said with a soft smile as he quietly left the room, taking the tray with a half empty bowl of soup with him.

Sirius watched as his friend left both Harry and himself alone before he turned back to his Godson. He looked so small and venerable lying paralyzed in a bed that was just a little too big for him, his face pale and scarred, his eyes tired and haunted…when had things gotten so bad?

'Probably the night that you went after Pettigrew, when you left him alone' a nagging voice said in his head. The voice was right, though. Harry would never have ended up like this if he hadn't left him that Halloween night, heck if he hadn't traded with Pettigrew he would have been raised by how own parents…not monsters!

"I'll leave you to sleep." Sirius said quietly as he went to get up, but just as he was about to turn for the door he felt something tug on the sleeve of his wrist. He turned back around to find Harry looking up at him with those big, sad eyes. He didn't say anything. Harry wasn't sure whether his mouth just didn't seem to want to work, or if he was too tired, but no words came out.

"Of course, I could stay." Sirius said with a grin, feeling as though for once he was doing his proper job as a Godfather, and being there for his Godson.  
Harry let a small smile slip. Of course he knew that it was childish and silly to want a grown man to stay with you because you are too afraid to sleep, especially for the boy who lived, but he was simply too tired to care.

Remus sighed as he cupped the hot steaming cup of tea in his hands, his mind frantically trying to process all that had happened within the last 24 hours. If someone had told him that he would have found the boy he considered to be as good as his own beaten and bloody in his own relative's house, then he would have told them that they were mad. Now, however, everything had changed.  
He should be used to experiencing self-hatred, that feeling he got whenever something went drastically wrong, whenever he was incorrect, the feeling had he long since got used to. Yet it still coursed through him, the frustration, the anger, the guilt, every emotion running through him.

Why hadn't he seen it? He had taught him for a whole year, he had spent time alone with him! He had seen his exhausted he had looked on that train journey to Hogwarts, how his clothes were too big for him…two years ago!  
And what had he done? Nothing! He had shook it off, told himself that nobody in their right mind would harm Harry, that maybe it was just a coincidence that the clothes he saw him in was big. He had never felt more ashamed than he had in that moment when he realised what the horrifying truth was, that all along Harry was being abused and tortured by his own family!

"He's asleep." A voice said, pulling him from his thoughts as he noticed Sirius walking around to take the seat next to him, which he dropped into with a great sigh.

"He must be exhausted." Remus said with a nod, as Sirius ran his hands through his hair.

"What am I going to do, Mooney?" Sirius almost pleaded in a broken voice.

Remus opened his mouth to tell him exactly what he should do, to be there for Harry, that there was nothing else that could fix him. But he was interrupted from his speech when the door opened and Madame Pomfrey almost ran into the room.

"Harry's fine, Poppy. He was awake, but…" Remus started to tell her, swirling the tea in his mug as he did so, but he was quickly cut off.

"That's not why I am here, Mr Lupin." She told him sternly, an almost panicky edge on her voice. "Dumbledore knows that Mr Potter isn't with his relatives. I don't know how, I can ensure you that I certainly was not the one to inform him, but he's coming. He knows he is here and is on his way."

Sirius looked sharply up at the school nurse, who was red in the face and breathing in short gasps as though she had just ran all the way from Hogwarts.

Remus, as usual the practical one, stood and gently placed a hand on Pomfrey's arm.

"Thank You for letting us know, Poppy." His voice was calm, but Sirius knew his friend all too well not to notice the same alarm in his voice that he was currently feeling.

Madame Pomfrey nodded before hurrying out of the door and back to the castle, silently hoping that she wouldn't bump into the headmaster.

"What are we going to do?" Sirius panicked as frantically swept a hand through his hair, worry and stress over taking him. He would not let that meddling old fool take Harry from him…not again!

Remus honestly didn't know what they were going to do. They could always try to hide Harry, but Dumbledore would find out one way or another, he had a habit of seeing right through people. But then what? Give up without a fight? Take the risk of letting him take Harry and send him to his probable death?

"I'll take him." Sirius said with a new found determination as he marched stubbornly towards the door.

"What?" Remus asked him with a frown.

"I'll take Harry. Dumbledore isn't here yet. I'll grab him and we'll run. Go somewhere far away where he won't find us." Sirius replied seriously, all the while trying to get past Remus who was barricading the door.

"Sirius, be serious!" Remus exclaimed loudly. It was a reflection of just how serious the situation was when Sirius didn't respond with his usual overused response to the word.

"I am! Remus this is Harry! Harry! You aren't actually going to let that old fool take him are you!" Sirius shouted in frustration, ignoring Remus' slight wince.

"Be quiet! You'll wake Harry!" Remus hissed. It wasn't so much as Harry waking which worried Remus, but how he would react to hearing shouting and raised voices. He had heard Poppy! Emotional damage and mental damage! There was no telling what he would do if he heard the exact same tone of voice in Sirius as he had so many times in his uncle.

The plausible part of Sirius' mind seemed to be thinking the same thing as he immediately quietened his tone.

"Sirius, listen to me." Remus implored. "Harry has to stay here. He is still very ill, he's not stable enough. Dumledore will find us one way or another we cannot out run him!" Sirius opened his mouth, but Remus quickly cut him off. "I know! Dumbledore has power, but not enough power! You are Harry's Godfather, Sirius. You. Not Dumbledore. And this is your house. While Harry is under it he will not be able to force him away."

Sirius finally stopped resisting as he sunk into one of the hard, wooden kitchen chairs. Remus was right…as usual. Dumbledore would threaten it, he would be high and mighty, but would he actually be able to go through with his threats?  
Sirius was an escaped convict, he was known throughout the wizarding world for being a murderer, the reason that Harry was an orphan…but even Dumbledore had lost his credibility over the summer with the Ministry sprouting so many lies. But he still had more power…and he knew Remus knew it!

But then what about Harry? Would it really do him any good to hide? He was a teenage boy, he should be allowed to live like a normal fifteen year old would. In a house, surrounded by family who love him, not running for his life. Harry needed care that he would only be able to get if they could at least access the public, it would do him no good living in some shack on a god forsaken rock!

Sirius jumped out of his thoughts at the sound of the front door slamming open alerting them both to Dumbledore's arrival. He followed Remus who had marched determinedly past him and through the door to the front porch, where they were met with the familiar sight of Mrs Black screaming and raging, Dumbledore standing at the bottom of the steps as he spelled the curtains on her portrait shut.

"Albus." Remus said grimly, his teeth nearly grinding as he did so.

Dumbledore turned to face the two men, his face a mixture of anger, frustration, and something that they couldn't quite put their finger on.

"Remus. Sirius." Dumbledore nodded at them, but neither nodded back or showed any kind gesture in return. "It has come to my attention that young Mr Potter has left his home…you wouldn't know where he is would you?"

Those piercing eyes were boring into both of them, a sheer determination and manipulation shining through them.

"No idea." Sirius said shortly as he glared at the Headmaster, Remus remaining quietly by his side.

"Are you quite sure?" Dumbledore questioned him, and they knew, they both knew without a doubt that Dumbledore already knew exactly where Harry was. "If you would be so kind as to retrieve, Mr Potter, I will be taking him back to his relatives."

"No." Remus growled to the shock of Sirius. He didn't think that he had ever spoke to the headmaster with such ferocity. "You are not taking him anywhere."

"Ah! You see, that is where you are wrong, Mr Lupin. Harry belongs with his relatives. They are the only family he has left." Dumbledore told him, his hands gripped as though he was getting ready for a fight.

"They are not his family!" Sirius spat, ignoring Dumbledore's look of disgust and annoyance. "They beat him, Albus! They beat him and hurt him!"

There was silence in the porch, all that could be heard was the flickering of the lamps hanging on the walls, and the shallowness of their own breathing.

"I'm sure that it is not that bad." Dumbledore told them indifferently. "If Harry told you so, he may merely be looking for a way to get away from his relatives. I am aware they are not the kindest of muggles, but they are his family. They would not him."

"Are you saying that my Godson is a liar?" Sirius hissed as he took a step closer to Dumbledore, their faces practically touching.

"I am saying that Harry is a very stubborn young man." Dumbledore retorted, his voice still calm. "He would likely say anything to stay away from his family. He may resort to lying if he were desperate enough. He is after all only human."

"Get out. Now." Remus growled, his eyes glowing with disgust as he stared at the man who had once been the only person he had ever looked up to.

"I did not mean to upset you…" Dumbledore started with a deep sigh. "I merely have Harry's best interests at heart."

Sirius scoffed to himself, he wondered if the mad old fool actually believed that. It was painfully clear to him, and even Remus now that the only interests he had was in himself. They certainly weren't in Harry. He had been the one to let him go to the Dursley's. He had left him to face a life of abuse and pain, a life without love. He had let him face Voldemort time and time again. He was the reason that Harry was lying in a bed unable to walk, haunted by his own memories…and he had the audacity to claim that Harry had made it all up!

"He has been through a lot." Dumbledore said solemnly, his head bowed. "He may not be lying, but perhaps his mind is protecting him. Creating a story which he would believe. My dear boys I do not blame you for falling for it."

"Are you insane?" Sirius exclaimed as he looked at the headmaster with horror. "Are you seriously suggesting that Harry has gone crazy?"

"It is a very real possibility." Dumbledore said shaking his head sadly as he did so. Remus and Sirius were both thinking the same thing … this has got to be a joke! The headmaster would start laughing and insist that he truly did believe them…but he didn't.

"Get out of this house now…or we will make you!" Remus growled, the wolf inside him coming to the surface as he stepped towards the headmaster who backed away, a slight spark of fear in his twinkling eyes.

"Fine." Dumbledore sternly replied, as Remus slowly backed up on him, leading him to the door as he did so. "But I must warn you now, gentlemen…the Ministry will realise that the boy is missing. And when they do they will eventually find him…and you. They will be less than happy that he has been kidnapped by a murderer and a werewolf." He continued cruelly. "If you insist on hiding the boy, then you should do it on your own head. I trust you know the punishment for kidnap."

Sirius stood a short distance away from the two men. Of course he knew the punishment, ten years in Azkaban. Of course he was already wanted, everyone who didn't know the truth thought of him as a dangerous, murderous, maniac…if he were caught he would either be sent to prison or given the price already on his shoulders. But Remus was different. He was a Werewolf. The ministry were already looking for excuses to exterminate them. There was no guarantee that they would even let him live.

"Get out now." Remus repeated, unfazed by the Headmasters threats.

Dumbledore swiftly walked out of the door with one last glare at Remus and Sirius, before he disappeared into the night.

Remus silently turned to face Sirius whose face was red with fury.

"Do you think he'll tell them? The Ministry?" Sirius asked Remus, an edge of nervousness to his voice.

"Oh, there's no doubt about it." Remus replied grimly, thrusting his hands into his trouser pockets.

"But Remus, if they catch you…" Sirius said, his face wearing a frown of worry.

"It doesn't matter." Remus replied quickly. "They won't catch us…and if they do, then we'll fight them. We won't let them take Harry."

"But you could die." Sirius stuttered, staring at the door as though it would be broken down at any second, Aurors storming in to take Harry and Remus away from him.

"It's worth the risk." Remus replied quietly. Harry was worth it … Sirius was worth the risk.

"I think I need a drink" Sirius sighed, running a hand through his wild hair as Remus smirked grimly.

'You're not the only one' he thought.

Just as they were both making their way through the grim corridor down to the kitchen, a harsh scream sounded throughout the house…and this time it wasn't Mrs Black. It was Harry.

**So you made it! Thanks again for reading…it literally, honestly does make my day when I get a favourite, or a follow, or review. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and for those of you who are following the story thanks for sticking with it! **

**The Next Chapter will be out soon…. Chapter 7: The Nightmare! **

**Until then …. **


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